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|Image= [[File:Epsilon_Lambda.jpg|200px]]
|Founded= {{start date and years ago|1967|02|25}}
|College= [httphttps://www.utk.edu/ University of Tennessee]
|Location= Knoxville, Tennessee
|Homepage= [httphttps://chaptersutk.kappakappagammakappa.org/epsilonlambda/ Epsilon Lambda Homepage]|Media= [httphttps://wiki.kappakappagammakkg.org/index.php?title=Category:Epsilon_Lambda Media related to Epsilon Lambda Chapter]}}
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'''University of Tennessee, Knoxville, Tennessee, Established 1794'''
==Highlights of 2011==
Scholarship: Several programs implemented
Province Awards:
Chapter Goals: Intellectual Development
Understanding & Appreciation of Kappa
Philanthropic Events:
World/Local Events: We had a clothing drive for a sister’s friend’s house that burned down.
Overcoming Challenges: Our Philanthropy Chair had to step down due to applying to Nursing school, so we had to find a replacement, which ended up turning out very well. Our new philanthropy chair even had the brilliant idea of a new philanthropy event called Breakfast for Babies. - Panhellenic wanting to release Judicial Affairs statistics about all of the Chapters, but through meetings and discussions, Pan decided to table release of the information at this time.
New Traditions:
Special Events: We had the dedication/opening of our new chapter house.
Our chapter continues to emphasize Academics, Sisterhood and Participation. We support these concepts by our intense focus on Academic performance throughout the semester, creative Sisterhood events and a new Participation Celebration we implemented Fall 2013 to encourage participation in mandatory events, academic success and participation on campus and in the community.
==Highlights of 2014==
Scholarship:
Epsilon Lambda has done a wonderful job this year of continuing to emphasize the importance of chapter academic success. We are proud to announce that for Fall semester 2014, we had an average chapter GPA of 3.16, which placed us above the all-sorority average of 3.12.
Here are some programs we have implemented to encourage members to excel in academics:
- KKG Test Fairy twitter account
- Academic Conferences for members on an academic status
- Study Hour Log
- Wise Owl Jar, which allows members to be rewarded for their good grades throughout the week.
- Study Hours
- DropBox used for test files
- Rewards for Members who make above a 3.50 GPA
- All New Members must have at or above a 3.0 high school GPA
Awards:
- At the 2014 Convention, Epsilon Lambda won the Finance Award for a housed chapter.
Philanthropic Events:
- Epsilon Lambda participated in and won Beta Upsilon Chi's Island week, whose proceeds went to Tiva Water.
- Participated in Kappa Sigma's South Seas Week, whose proceeds benefitted the Fisher House Foundation.
- Participated in and won Delta Tau Delta's Battle of the Bands, whose proceeds benefitted the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation.
- Participated in and won Chi Omega's Flag Football Tournament, benefitting Dream Connection.
- March for Babies, benefitting March of Dimes
- Chef's Auction, benefitting March of Dimes
- March of Dimes Golf Tournament
- Reading to children at Thrive for Lonsdale Elementary, benefitting underprivileged youth in the Knoxville area
- Relay for Life (campus-wide event that Epsilon Lambda participated in)
- Habitat for Humanity (campus-wide event that Epsilon Lambda participated in)
- 1st annual Kappa Kolor Wars, benefitting March of Dimes.
We are so proud of the success of our 1st annual Kappa Kolor Wars. Below is a summary of this event:
On September 24, 2014 Epsilon Lambda chapter of Kappa Kappa Gamma hosted its newest philanthropy event, Kappa Kolor Wars, benefitting March of Dimes. Kolor Wars is a paint-filled water balloon dodgeball tournament, mixing elements of the color run with dodgeball. The tournament was bracket-style with separate girl’s and boy’s brackets. Each sorority and fraternity team consisted of five players, each receiving a Kappa Kolor Wars t-shirt to participate in. The winners of each bracket received a trophy, as well as a $100 donation to their philanthropy.
A total of 19 teams participated, 9 sororities: Delta Zeta, Pi Beta Phi, Sigma Kappa, Kappa Delta, Zeta Tau Alpha, Delta Delta Delta, Chi Omega, Delta Gamma, and Alpha Chi Omega; and 10 fraternities: Delta Tau Delta, Alpha Gamma Rho, Phi Delta Gamma, Sigma Phi Epsilon, Sigma Nu, Beta Upsilon Chi, Sigma Chi, Sigma Alpha Epsilon, Kappa Sigma, and Phi Sigma Kappa. The ladies of Tri Delta won the girl’s bracket, and the gentleman of Sigma Chi were the champions of the boy’s.
All of the proceeds from Kappa Kolor Wars went to Kappa Kappa Gamma’s local philanthropy, March of Dimes. March of Dimes is a non-profit organization promoting the health of babies and their families, along with preventing infant mortality and premature birth. Kappa is excited to announce that a total of $3,110 was raised for the Knoxville chapter of March of Dimes! Everyone in the chapter really enjoyed participating and had a great time raising money for a great cause!
Chapter Goals:
- Academic Development:
* Maintain chapter GPA above the all-Panhellenic average
* Continue to monitor members with grades below 3.0
- Chapter Involvement
* Chapter council members should respect time of chapter members
* Continue to educate the chapter about the attendance reward program
* Emphasize and promote opportunities to the chapter to help members become more involved and gain leadership experience.
- Chapter Leadership Programming
* Chapter council should utilize committees to encourage member involvement in chapter decision making
* Increase chapter participation throughout Panhellenic and always promote Kappa ideals and values
- Chapter Knowledge and Chapter Heritage
* Continue exposing new members to ritual thoroughly and immediately after initiation
* Increase enthusiasm for ritual, and emphasize the importance of Initiation and respecting Kappa values during Inspiration Week
* Educate the members on the importance and uniqueness of our ritual.
Traditions:
- Sapphire Rewards Banquet
- Mother Daughter Tea during the Spring semester
- Annual Parents Weekend during the Fall semester
- Father-Daughter Baseball Game during the Spring semester
- Recruitment Traditions, including the Tennessee Kappa Rap and Kappa Kozy during Recruitment Retreat.
Overcoming Challenges:
For the past several years, Epsilon Lambda has been on an academic focus letter due to our chapter semester GPA falling below the all-sorority average semester GPA for multiple, consecutive semesters. We are proud to announce, that for Fall 2014, Epsilon Lambda placed 5th overall for Panhellenic GPAs. Our chapter had an overall GPA of 3.16, placing us above the all sorority average of 3.12. This is the first time we have been above the average in many semesters. Our VPAE and her committee continues to work diligently to ensure we remain above the all-sorority average again for Spring 2015.
Also, one concern that Epsilon Lambda has had for some time is overall chapter appearance at informal meetings. Many members were wearing athletic clothes, baggy t-shirts, and other non-professional attire. Chapter Council members decided that Members should look more presentable and professional, even for informal meetings, so under the leadership of President Whitney Robinson, Epsilon Lambda created a new Standing Rule that banned athletic clothes, leggings, and baggy t-shirts from informal meetings. This is to ensure that members look presentable for all guests coming into chapter meetings.
Another challenge Epsilon Lambda continues to battle is lack of participation by a large portion of our membership. Attendance at major philanthropic events has been a recent issue for Epsilon Lambda, but we are taking strides to eradicate this problem. One such stride is the implementation of the Sapphire Rewards program in Fall 2013, which keeps track of member involvement throughout the semester. At the end of the semester, members who have obtained all required points for mandatory events as well as those who have the most points, will be invited to a Sapphire Rewards Banquet, which includes dinner and some sort of tangible reward, like a new and trendy clothing item or other gift. So far, this system seems to be encouraging more attendance, but we are still working through this challenge. We are excited to see all the benefits this system brings to the chapter in the coming semesters.
The University of Tennessee is a very dynamic campus- constantly changing and working to improve. Similarly, Epsilon Lambda is an ever-evolving chapter as well. As a chapter, we work hard to overcome challenges and better our chapter in any way possible. As our university changes, we work hard to stay at the forefront of new reforms, thus promoting university standards and ideals while upholding the reputation of an influential and beneficial organization on this campus.
In 2010, the University of Tennessee announced its goal to become a Top 25 university. Since then, many strides have been taken in this direction. With increased focus on academics campus-wide, Epsilon Lambda is proud to announce our recent accomplishment of obtaining a chapter cumulative GPA above the all-sorority average. Just as the university has increased focus on academics, so have we placed more emphasis on this vital aspect of the college experience. We believe in creating a supportive environment in which Epsilon Lambda members can succeed academically. With the new programs and rewards in place, we encourage all members to contribute not only to Kappa Kappa Gamma's academic standards, but also the academic standards and goals of the University of Tennessee.
In the past year, the University of Tennessee has also increased its standards for the Greek community. As members of Kappa Kappa Gamma, we believe that we must be leaders in the Greek community, embodying university ideals at all times. We acknowledge that we are wearing our letters at all times, and we realize that our behavior inside and outside of the classroom will reflect on the reputation of our chapter. As the university looks with more scrutiny at the Greek chapters on campus, Epsilon Lambda is committed to proving to our university that Greek life is beneficial to our campus in many ways, not detrimental. To do this, we are uniting with more Panhellenic sororities and enacting reforms within the Panhellenic community. Our Panhellenic delegate is doing a wonderful job at communicating Panhellenic decisions to the chapter and at communicating Kappa values to the Panhellenic community.
In conclusion, with the changes implemented on the University of Tennessee's campus, Epsilon Lambda's goal is to remain a model organization on campus, embracing all university ideals and fostering the development of young women into successful, proud alumni of both Epsilon Lambda and the University of Tennessee.
All Epsilon Lambda meetings are held in the Chapter Room of our beautiful house located in the new Sorority Village on the University of Tennessee's campus. Once per month, a chapter meal is held at the house before a chapter meeting to foster deeper relationships between all members in all pledge classes. On February 23, 2013, Epsilon Lambda opened the doors to its first house, located in the beautiful Sorority Village on the University of Tennessee's campus, where all 13 sororities now have a house. Our house sleeps 33 girls, mostly members of the Sophomore pledge class. This house has been a wonderful opportunity for members to become closer to each other and develop relationships that they otherwise would not have without this wonderful house.
==Highlights of 2015==
This year, we continued the use of our Wise Owl Jar to reward members who excelled on tests and assignments. We also continued to hold academic conferences and encouraged members to log their study hours and contribute to the study files. Our chapter GPA in Spring 2015 was 3.18, which was higher than the all-women average on our university’s campus but lower than the all-sorority average.
For the Fall of 2015, we were above the All-Sorority Average. Also, our freshman new member class had the 3rd highest GPA out of all the sororities on campus.
Chapter Goals:
Academic Development
- Work towards the all-Panhellenic GPA average and continue to monitor girls with
grades below 3.0.
Chapter Involvement
- Respect time of chapter members, continue to educate the chapter about the reward
system, and emphasize and promote opportunities within the chapter to help
members become more involved and develop leadership qualities.
Chapter Leadership Programming
- Utilize committees/motivate the middle, increase chapter participation throughout
Panhellenic and promote the Kappa “brand”, and emphasize and promote
opportunities within the chapter to encourage members to become more involved
and develop leadership qualities.
Chapter Knoweldge and Chapter Heritage
- Continue exposing new members to ritual immediately after initiation, increase the
enthusiasm and emphasize the importance of initiation during inspiration week, and
educate the members on the importance and uniqueness of our ritual by utilizing
spare meeting time and chapter events to practice ritual.
Philanthropic Events:
March for Babies benefiting March of Dimes
Kappa Kolor Wars benefiting March of Dimes
Chef's Auction benefiting March of Dimes
Major League Breakfast benefiting March of Dimes
THRIVE benefiting Knoxville education and children’s literacy
Kappa Sigma’s South Seas benefiting the Fisher House Foundation
Delta Tau Delta’s Battle of the Bands benefiting the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation
Lambda Chi Alpha’s Watermelon Bust benefiting St. Jude’s Children’s Hospital
Sigma Chi’s Derby Days benefiting the Children’s Miracle Network
Alpha Tau Omega’s OcTAUberfest
Beta Upsilon Chi’s Island Party benefiting TIVA water
Overcoming Challenges:
In the past years, our officers and advisors have noticed that our chapter has been over programming
the members. However, this year, we worked on the challenge of being over programmed
by increasing communication among officers to facilitate more efficient planning.
With this improvement in communication, we were able to decrease needless programming in
order to foster an environment that both encourages member involvement and enables members to
remain focused on academics.
In previous years, our chapter struggled to meet quota for new member recruitment.
However, this year we overcame this challenge and easily exceeded quota thanks to an amazing
recruitment process. Our Membership Chairman, Anna Taylor, worked tirelessly to facilitate a
positive, informative, and empowering recruitment workshop in order to successfully recruit 69
new members.
Finally, we have, in the past, been faced with the challenge of losing new members. However,
this year, our new member retention rate increased due to the wonderful new member education
program directed by our New Member Chairman, Haley Hancock.
Traditions:
Sapphire Reward System
Mother Daughter Tea
Major League Breakfast
In the past year, the University of Tennessee has worked tirelessly to create a campus environment
that is inclusive of all persons regardless of cultural, racial, sexual, religious, or socioeconomic
background. The University of Tennessee seeks to gain student participation in ongoing diversity
inclusion campaigns in order to spread the message of acceptance to all corners of campus. The
University of Tennessee especially looks to members of the Greek community to be a force of
social change and community support. One of the most prominent strengths of the Epsilon
Lambda chapter of Kappa Kappa Gamma is that we are composed of a very unique, diverse, and
accepting body of members. Our member involvement extends far beyond the walls of our chapter
room and the Greek community. In addition to having a large presence on Panhellenic council,
Kappa Kappa Gamma has several members involved in Student Government Association (SGA),
with one of our members being the Vice President of SGA. With this heavy involvement on
campus, members of Kappa Kappa Gamma are able to serve as role models to other students and
are able to provide a strong and unifying voice regarding student opinions of social and academic
changes being implemented by campus administration.
As a chapter, Epsilon Lambda has several core strengths as well as some weaknesses on which we
strive to improve. One of our greatest strengths is the uniqueness of our members. Each member
brings something special to the table, which helps to complete the chapter. Our members work
together to unify each person’s unique qualities to foster a positive, supportive, and empowering
environment in which members can wholly express themselves as well as learn new and different
things from other members. Another strength of this chapter is the commitment to our ritual.
Thanks to a well-organized new member education program, our new members are exposed to and
encouraged to learn our ritual immediately after initiation in a manner that is both fun and
informative. All members understand and appreciate the importance and uniqueness of our ritual,
which further unifies our chapter. Despite these strengths, our chapter recognizes that there is
always room for improvement. We recognize that one of our weaknesses is lack of member
participation in Kappa-sponsored events. This year’s chapter council paid special attention to this
weakness in order to discover the root of the problem. With the help of our advisors, we decided
that lack of member participation might be due to over-programming. Therefore, we carefully
planned all chapter events this year in an attempt to boost chapter interest and maximize
participation. While we have not yet been able to determine if more careful programming has made
a difference, we hope that the next council will continue to program carefully, maintain
transparency and flexibility, and work to improve member participation in all events.
Chapter Philanthropy:
What organization(s) has your chapter historically/traditionally raised money for, or donated hours to, in
your community?
THRIVE and March of Dimes.
Why did your chapter choose this organization(s) to support?
Since Reading is Fundamental is Kappa’s national philanthropy, we chose to donate our time and
efforts to a local organization that also promotes literacy in young children. THRIVE at Lonsdale
elementary is a non-profit organization dedicated to educating inner-city children who come from
minority families or families below the poverty line. THRIVE recognizes that children have
educational, physical, and spiritual needs, and in order to break the cycle of poverty, these needs
must be met. Therefore, as members of the Epsilon Lambda chapter of Kappa Kappa Gamma, we
spend one day a week reading to and tutoring the children of this after-school program in order to
promote literacy and education.
We also donate much of our time and money to March of Dimes, our local philanthropy that
supports research regarding premature births and also aids parents of premature children. Each
year we participate in March for Babies, a walk put on by March of Dimes. During this event, we
are able to interact with many of the children and parents who have benefitted from this incredible
organization. We truly enjoy the opportunity to see where our money is going and how much of an
impact is has on the people we are helping. We have several fundraisers during the year that we
organize to raise money for this organization. In the fall, we have Kappa Kolor Wars, and in the
spring, we have Breakfast for Babies or Major League Breakfast. All proceeds from these events are
donated directly to March of Dimes.
==Highlights of 2016==
This year Epsilon Lambda continued to grow with the addition of over fifty beautiful ladies and really strived to implement and uphold our chapter's values and goals. With such an outstanding group of ladies in our chapter, our goals and standards were easily met. We received the Panhellenic Award at national convention for exemplifying true Panhellenic leadership and support at our university. We also received an Honorable Mention for our New Member Program and we were recognized as an Adelphe Society Member for raising $10,000 for the Kappa Kappa Gamma foundation.
We also received the Sisterhood Program of the Year award from Panhellenic at the University of Tennessee and were one of two Panhellenic sororities featured in UT's Admissions viewbook for high school seniors. We also completed the most SOFE requirements during the pilot year out of all Panhellenic sororities. Regarding academics, we continued to push our members to work hard and stay above the All-sorority average. Our VPAE, Abbey Rosanski, really went above and beyond to make sure each and every member had the resources and support they needed to meet their academic goals. We also participated in many philanthropic events including Kappa Kolor Wars, Breakfast for Babies, March for Babies at the Knoxville Zoo, and Chef's Auction, which all benefited March of Dimes raising over $5000 in total donations in 2016.
We also participated in THRIVE at Lonsdale Elementary School, Lemonade for Literacy, Project Elevates Hero Day, Boys and Girls Club Easter Egg Hunt, the Gatlinburg Wildfire Relief, Relay for Life, and many other Greek organization's philanthropy events as well. We placed first overall in Greek Beat and was the top fundraising team for For The Kids (FTK) at UT. We received the Miss Congeniality award at Panhellenic's Lip Sync competition as well. Epsilon Lambda really strived to get involved and make a difference in the lives of our own members and those around us, whether that be local or national. We put in a lot of hard work this year and it definitely paid off to see all of those who have benefitted from it.
The University of Tennessee always seems to be changing and implementing new standards for its students to meet. Epsilon Lambda really strives to uphold our universities standards to become not only proud, successful women of Kappa, but also of the University of Tennessee. One of the biggest issues we saw this year on campus was regarding diversity. Epsilon Lambda sees every member of our chapter as unique and we welcome and embrace any and all diversity that comes our way.
We wanted to continue with the ideas of Kappa's national philanthropy, Reading is Fundamental, and help to promote literacy in children. THRIVE at Lonsdale Elementary school provides us the opportunity to do this, as well as interact with some of the most kind-hearted and fun-loving children. This year, we expanded our involvement with THRIVE, now going twice a week to help students read and work on homework.
We also donate as much time and money as we can to March of Dimes, our local philanthropy that supports research regarding premature birth and helps families dealing with this issue. This year, we found an amazing family to sponsor and absolutely love working with them to help raise awareness about premature birth. All proceeds from our fall philanthropy, Kappa Kolor Wars, and our spring philanthropy, Breakfast for Babies, were donated to March of Dimes.
All Epsilon Lambda meetings are held in the Chapter Room of our beautiful house.
==Highlights of 2017==
This year Epsilon Lambda continued to grow with the addition of over 60 new ladies who shared our values and have helped us reach our chapter's goals. We were able to meet these goals with the help of our hardworking, dedicated members. We won the award of Chapter of the Year from Panhellenic at the University of Tennessee and Whitney Padgett, the previous president, won President of the Year. We also completed the SOFEE requirements this year. While we were not able to stay above the All-Sorority average in the Spring, Cait Berosh, our VPAE, worked hard to motivate all of our members to do the best they can in classes. The University of Tennessee always seems to be changing and setting new rules and standards for its students to meet. Epsilon Lamda aims to follow our university standards to become proud and successful women of Kappa Kappa Gamma and the the University of Tennessee. One of the biggest issues we saw this year on campus was still having to do with diversity. Epsilon Lambda knows that we have all unique but wonderful members as a part of our chapter and we welcome them all and the diversity that comes our way.
[[File:Epsilon Lambda chapter room.jpg|thumb|Epsilon Lambda's chapter room]]
We also participated in many philanthropic events including Kappa Kolor Wars, Breakfast for Babies, March for Babies at the Knoxville Zoo, and the Chef's Auction supporting the March of Dimes. We also volunteered at THRIVE Lonsdale Elementary School, Relay for Life, and For the Kids. We received the Miss Congeniality award at Panhellenic's Lip Sync competition again this year. Epsilon Lambda worked hard to be involved and make a difference this year on and off campus and with our own members but also members of the community. We have put in a lot of hard work this year and it has paid off by getting to see all the lives we have impacted and helped.
'''Philanthropy'''
We also participated in many philanthropic events including Kappa Kolor Wars, Breakfast for Babies, March for Babies at the Knoxville Zoo, and the Chef's Auction supporting the March of Dimes. We also volunteered at THRIVE Lonsdale Elementary School, Relay for Life, and For the Kids.We received the Miss Congeniality award at Panhellenic's Lip Sync competition again this year. Epsilon Lambda worked hard to be involved and make a difference this year on and off campus and with our own members but also members of the community. We have put in a lot of hard work this year and it has paid off by getting to see all the lives we have impacted and helped.
We chose to support THRIVE Lonsdale because of Kappa's national philanthropy, Reading is Fundamental. THRIVE at Lonsdale Elementary school provides us with the opportunity to go and help children with their homework and give them someone they can read to. This year we are still able to continue going twice a week to help the students. We also donate time and money to the March of Dimes, our local philanthropy, that supports research with premature birth, birth defects and infant mortality. We volunteer at fundraisers that they have hear in Knoxville and have formed a very close relationship with the Ambassador Family. All the money we are able to raise from our fall philanthropy, Kappa Kolor Wars, and our spring philanthropy, Breakfast for Babies, were donated to the March of Dimes.
All Epsilon Lambda meetings are held in the Chapter Room of our beautiful house.
== Highlights of 2018 ==
This year Epsilon Lambda continued to grow with the addition of over 70 new ladies who shared our values and have helped us reach our chapter's goals. We were able to meet these goals with the help of our hardworking, dedicated members. With such an outstanding group of ladies in our chapter, our goals and standards were easily met. We also completed the SOFEE requirements this year. While we were not able to stay above the All-Sorority average in the Spring, Allison Padgett, our VPAE, worked hard to motivate all of our members to do the best they can in classes. She came up with new successful programs and incentives for our members to reach their academic and career goals such as a resume building course and gift cards for members who get above average test grades. The University of Tennessee always seems to be changing and setting new rules and standards for its students to meet. Epsilon Lambda aims to follow our university standards to become proud and successful women of Kappa Kappa Gamma and the the University of Tennessee. One of the biggest issues we saw this year on campus was still having to do with diversity. Epsilon Lambda knows that we have all unique but wonderful members as a part of our chapter and we welcome them all and the diversity that comes our way. We also participated in many philanthropic events including Kappa Kolor Wars, Breakfast for Babies, March for Babies at the Knoxville Zoo, and the Chef's Auction supporting the March of Dimes. We also volunteered at THRIVE Lonsdale Elementary School, and For the Kids. Epsilon Lambda worked hard to be involved and make a difference this year on and off campus and with our own members but also members of the community. We have put in a lot of hard work this year and it has paid off by getting to see all the lives we have impacted and helped.
'''Philanthropy:'''
In the spring we had our Breakfast for Babies brunch benefitting March for Dimes at the house. We had a very successful year and raised 6000 dollars for the Knoxville March of Dimes chapter. We also participated in many philanthropic events including Kappa Kolor Wars, Breakfast for Babies, March for Babies at the Knoxville Zoo, and the Chef's Auction supporting the March of Dimes. We also volunteered at THRIVE Lonsdale Elementary School, Relay for Life, and For the Kids. We also participated in other chapter’s philanthropy events on campus. Epsilon Lambda worked hard to be involved and make a difference this year on and off campus and with our own members but also members of the community. We have put in a lot of hard work this year and it has paid off by getting to see all the lives we have impacted and helped. In the fall we decided as a chapter to focus fully on Kappa’s National Philanthropy Reading is Fundamental, this means that we no longer support March of Dimes and the Knoxville Chapter. This came about because the Knoxville chapter was really struggling and the money we donate could not help save it. We decided to put all our time and resources into THRIVE at Lonsdale Elementary school. This provides us with the opportunity to go and help children with their homework and give them someone they can read to. This year we are still able to continue going twice a week to help the students.
All Epsilon Lambda meetings are held in the Chapter Room of our beautiful house.
==Highlights of 2019==
[[File:Epsilon Lambda Chapter Council 2019.png|thumb|Epsilon Lambda Chapter Council 2019]]
This August Epsilon Lambda welcomed home 92 new members to our chapter, which is our largest pledge class we have ever taken. We have achieved many goals this calendar year such as raising our chapter GPA and advancing from 10/ 13 in the village to 7/13 in the village. This advancement could not have been done without our amazing VPAE, Katelyn Robinson. Katelyn has implemented many things throughout her time as VPAE and has helped us as a chapter achieve our goals of becoming better students in our classes.
This year Epsilon Lambda has participated, and won many philanthropy events throughout the Greek community. In the spring we participated in SAE’s Paddy Murphy week and AOPi’s strike out arthritis kickball tournament and placed first in both of these events. As for our own chapter philanthropy events, we volunteer weekly at THRIVE a multiple locations to help under privileged children complete different homework assignments such as math and reading that goes hand in hand with our national philanthropy, Reading Is Fundamental. We also competed in the All Campus Events All Sing partnered with Sigma Kappa and took home first place. In April of 2019 we competed in All Campus Events Big Orange Beat partnered with Tri Delta and took home first place again. This year has been filled with many events and competitions that we as a chapter have loved participating in. It has been such a rewarding year for Epsilon Lambda!
We celebrated our fraternity’s Founder’s Day with a brunch at The Standard in downtown Knoxville. Many alumnae were in attendance and we were able to hold our annual Founders Day ceremony for the chapter and new members. In November we successfully initiated 90 new members and welcomed them into the sisterhood of Kappa Kappa Gamma. During inspiration period we were able to hold a dinner for the whole chapter at The Press Room in downtown Knoxville and celebrate the new members as they were about to be officially welcomed into our chapter.
'''Philanthropy'''
This year our amazing philanthropy chair, Avery Kraus, introduced a new spring philanthropy event to the chapter and Greek community. The spring event was a mac and cheese bar that we called “Mac and Keys.” This event benefitted our local philanthropy, THRIVE. In the fall we held our annual Kappa Kolor Wars event. KKW is an obstacle course event that involved different courses involving paint. At the end we have a dodgeball tournament for the sororities and fraternities that participated in the event. Since we do not support March of Dimes as our local philanthropy anymore both of these events benefitted THRIVE. We were able to donate money towards philanthropy events that we were unable to participate in such as Kappa Delta’s annual golf tournament, and Phi Kappa Tau’s philanthropy week. Overall this year for philanthropy has been so fun and rewarding for us as a chapter.
[[File:Epsilon Lambda Chapter House.png|thumb|Epsilon Lambda Chapter House]]
All Epsilon Lambda meetings are held in the Chapter Room of our beautiful house.
==Highlights of 2020==
This year has been nothing short of bizarre and unprecedented, while Kappas everywhere struggled, here are a few things we did to try and stay relevant and a strong sisterhood. This spring we held a Valentine's Day party with UT Future and Best Buddies, a sisterhood bowling event with BYX, and a sisterhood craft night where made scrapbook pages to put together. After we got sent home in March because of COVID-19, we begin Kappa pen pals, and we continued Lady Minerva through our Facebook page. We had a few Zoom calls where we just caught up and talked about things that were going on. Some friend groups had Zoom formals where they dressed up and got on a Zoom call. During the summer months we had a scrapbook that got sent around to different sisters where they added pages of things they had been up to. This fall had sisterhood events such as picnic in circle park, at main event (an adult arcade), and movie night outside. All of these were conducted following guidelines such as wearing masks and keeping our distance. All in person events were held outside and planned so that there would be shifts or limits on who all could attend. We also incorporated a fun way to attend virtual meetings, with some fun themes. Before the outbreak of COVID-19 we had a fun themed meeting at the beginning of each month such as a pajama meeting and jersey meeting. It was a way to boost chapter morale both before and after things went virtual. Things such as recruitment and the new member process were conducted differently with recruitment being entirely virtual. We started Zoom lunches this semester as well where we had girls get on Zoom during the middle of the day and just eat and chat about random things. In January we initiated a holdover initiate from the 2019 pledge class and this fall Initiation was held virtually over Zoom where we initiated 92 girls in two separate calls on October 31st. Big/little reveal was done differently with everyone spread out over campus and those who were virtual over Zoom.
[[File:Epsilon Lambda 2020.png|thumb|Epsilon Lambda 2020]]
'''Philanthropy'''
We were able to assist our philanthropy, "Thrive," with things such as a book drive and painting rooms in their building. Thrive is a nonprofit after school program where kids in lower income areas come and do their work. Not only are they helped with school work but they are also introduced to other fun activities that are school related and some that have to do with the Christian faith. We believe that this organization helps highlight our values in the Knoxville community, as these kids don’t have many opportunities for help at home so at Thrive they are helped with homework and some kids have learned to read because of Thrive. This fall we held a small philanthropy event where we sold Chick-fil-A breakfast to pick up at a drive through outside of our house and partnered with a jewelry company to have some of the proceeds go to our three organizations. Each chapter and chapter council meeting was held over Zoom, and officer transitions were done virtually November 16, 2020. During Spirit Week with the university we were paired with BYX and placed third overall.
'''Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion'''
This year we have added a DEI chair where the Chapter Council selects someone who would make sure that Diversity and Inclusion is kept a relevant subject in all chapter discussions. During recruitment work, our DEI chair spoke on some ways that we can prevent biases when talking to women of color. She also posted several items in our Facebook page that helped prevent biases on campus and raised awareness for different events that different councils were having. Towards the end of the semester we also had a DEI training session where every member was required to attended, and it was a great conversation starter in the chapter.
'''Sesquicentennial'''
We had the Minnie Stewart Van virtually present their van and tell us about the founding Kappa chapter. We also held a virtual celebration on Zoom the week after Founders Day.
==Highlights of 2021==
This Spring we held a Valentine’s Day Party with Best Buddies, weekly Zoom dinners where members were able to catch up on zoom, a Virtual Neighborhood Barre Class, Dance Moms Empowerment Talk with Christi Lukasiak and a Main Event Sisterhood Event. In the fall we were able to start back up Lady Minerva where every week at Chapter Meetings, a member would read a letter to another member who has made an impact on their college life in Kappa. As we gradually go back to a somewhat “normal” life, we have all been able to get closer to each other and experience what it is like to be a member of Kappa Kappa Gamma to the fullest.
[[File:Epsilon Lambda Preference Round 2021.png|thumb|Epsilon Lambda Preference Round 2021]]
'''Philanthropy'''
We were able to assist our local philanthropy “Thrive”, with things such as volunteering weekly. Thrive is a nonprofit after school program where kids in lower income areas come and do their school work. Not only are they helped with school work but they are also introduced to other fun activities that are school related and some that have to do with the Christian faith. We believe that this organization helps highlight our values in the Knoxville community, as these kids do not have many opportunities for help at home so at Thrive they are helped with homework and some kids have learned to read because of Thrive. This spring we held a drive-by philanthropy event called “Get Wa-Full with Kappa”, people were able to buy tickets and purchase a waffle from “Never Full Waffles” and pick it up at the Kappa house. This was a great way for us to still support our philanthropies while abiding by COVID-19 protocols. In the fall we were able to have an in-person philanthropy event called “Kappa Karnival” where different fraternities and sororities teamed up to compete in different carnival games, we also sold tickets to people in the Knoxville community to come participate. As a chapter we were also able to participate in different chapter philanthropy events, such as Delta Gamma’s Anchor Splash and Lambda Chi’s Watermelon Bust. This year with the change to Kappa’s national philanthropy of Mental Health Awareness and Advocacy, our chapter voted to support Active Minds, a nonprofit in the United States working to end the silence and change the culture around mental health by mobilizing the next generation.
'''Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion'''
The previous year we added a Diversity, Equity and Inclusion chair to our Associates Council to ensure that we were implementing DEI initiatives within all chapter decisions. In the fall, we added a requirement for all of our members to participate in at least two different DEI events per semester. As a chapter, we felt that this new requirement was a necessary step toward actively creating a more inclusive environment. Through educational programming and diversity training, we strive to keep our members informed about current events, as well as spark positive personal growth Our DEI chair also kept the conversation going with having a “trailblazer of the week” where she highlighted different people in history who have made a positive impact in the conversation of diversity. In the spring semester our members were required to attend a DEI Training Program held over zoom which was a great conversation starter in the chapter. In the spring, some of our members also volunteered for the MLK Service event. During Black History Month, our Public Relations chair highlighted trailblazing Black women that have left their mark on history, and posted different educational resources where people can learn more about Black History Month.
'''Operating During a Pandemic'''
This Spring we held all of our weekly chapter meetings on zoom to adhere by the COVID-19 Protocols. By doing this we were still able to see each other but in a safe manner. We also were able to still hold a philanthropy event which was a drive-by to keep people outside of the Kappa house. Thankfully this Fall we were able to have in-person weekly Chapter meetings. These had to be held on campus to ensure all of our members could fit. This was a breath of fresh air for our members as we were finally able to see each other again. Recruitment was also held in person while wearing masks and we successfully recruited a new pledge class of 113 new members. Initiation in the fall was also able to be held in person while wearing masks but we limited the number of people who attended to only our new members and the girls who were taking littles in the new pledge class. As a Chapter, we are so thankful to be able to semi go back to normal, but also keeping in mind the Pandemic is still on going.
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'''Note to Chapter Registrar:'''
Please refer to your chapter archives including chapter meeting minutes and back issues of ''The Key'' to fill in any gaps in the above historical highlights. If your chapter archives are not complete, please research your university library, campus newspaper and yearbook archives for newsworthy information about your chapter. Please double check your work for accuracy. Contact chapter Advisory or House Board members, local Alumnae Association members, or your Province Director of Chapters for assistance.
Your efforts will ensure a complete and accurate history of your chapter for future generations to enjoy!